What's Kaitlyn Talking About?

Kaitlyn is a talker.

This will shock a grand total of zero people reading this blog that have ever met me (or know my husband outside of casual meetings). She has a genetic predisposition to be a talker.

There is a story about me when I was very little. My grandmother sent me to go get a diaper for a diaper change. "This is ridiculous!" I reportedly said, to which my grandmother agreed that it was ridiculous that a girl that could say ridiculous would still need a diaper change.

That story could be told with Kaitlyn now. She has a vocabulary of multisyllabic words that rival children far older than her two years. She still talks gobbledygook (hey! that word was in my spell checker!) part of the time.

She can't say her own name (or won't - she claims her name is "Baby Becky"). But she can talk about homophones and give you examples - two, to; pare, pear, pair; nose, knows. Well, kind of.

There is a song on her favorite show of all time (Do the Moo Shoo Silly Songs Sing-along) called "Schoolhouse Polka" where the verses use these examples and the chorus extols the vocabularic wonders that are homophones. If you one of those sets a few times, she'll cry out: "Homophones!" and then talk about the others. OK, again, I don't claim she knows exactly what she's talking about, but we still marvel at her!

Other "big words" that stud her vocabulary (and are used more or less accurately)? "Awesome!", "You're welcome, ma'am", "probably", and "Gated Community" (although the last one is very specific in nature, I suppose).

One Cool Chick

Kaitlyn found her baby sunglasses in the pocket of her diaper bag, and has fallen in love with them. The same glasses she couldn't keep on for five minutes a year ago she won't take off now. This picture is actually upside down - she was standing with her back to me and leaning backwards to stare up at me.

Our New Sideboard!

Our new sideboard! It marks the first piece of furniture, the first antique, and the first part of our dining room set!

Click pictures for full-sized images.

Valentine's at the Dohl's

As a loving family, we can't overlook Valentine's Day. We can decline to buy into the increasing idea that it is a gift giving occasion, but I'll take the opportunity to go out to dinner, and if flowers are involve, well, so much the better.

This year Valentine's Day involved all of the above. February 13th Keith and Kaitlyn gave me their cards and a beautiful vase of tulips. I had made a card for Keith with a crocheted heart on the front. Auntie Kris came over to sit while Keith and I trekked to Maggiano's for dinner (family style for two! thanks to the Ares Family for the heads up!).

Valentine's Day Proper Keith had a full day of court and patrol, but we found a time to get our Valentine's pictures for the grandparents. Kaitlyn finished coloring the cards that evening, after giving Auntie her Valentine flowers and cards and after going out for pizza!

What's Kaitlyn Up To?

I'm trying to get better about posting even when I don't have photos to share. Amazingly, a lot goes on that doesn't get captured on camera!

For example, did you know that Kaitlyn has had her first haircut? It consisted of me quickly snipping her hair even across the back in about 7 snips with a pair of hair shears. She didn't lose length, just the straggly look.

And did you know that Kaitlyn can sing? Her favorite songs to sing are "B-I-B-L-E", "Jesus Loves Me", "Oh Where is My Hairbrush?" and "I Don't Got a Bellybutton". Don't worry if you haven't heard of the last two - they are from Kaitlyn's favorite show, VeggieTales. She absolutely loves the sing-along video "Do the Moo Shoo!", especially when Auntie Kris sings, too!

Kaitlyn loves books even more than ever, and her favorite books right now are a set that my mom got her that are all in Spanish. And her favorite is El Arca de Noe (can you guess what that is?). Unfortunately, Mommy is the only one that will read the books to her, although Auntie has told her the stories in English.

Tonight Nana and Pop came by on their way back from Florida, and they came bearing gifts. Here are the two T-shirts they got her:

Carolina Girls; Best in the World!

Little Miss K loves doing things "like Mommy" and "like Daddy". Whether it's talking on the phone like Mommy (although Mommy hates talking on the phone, and doesn't do it much), or playing "ballball" (basketball) like Daddy, or cheering for the Tar Heels like Mommy (and even more like Auntie Kristina); if she thinks it's like Mommy and Daddy she's all for it!

These pictures were taken before Auntie Kristina came over to borrow Mommy's jersey for the Carolina/Wake game. Kaitlyn wanted to really play basketball (that is, throw the ball around) in the den, but this was clearly not preferred behavior!